“I think the noblest service in life is public service, and I feel very privileged to be asked to do this,” he told the Star.

That instinct has guided the trajectory of Iacobucci’s life and career. Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., he earned a law degree at the University of British Columbia before practising law in New York.

In 1967, he joined the faculty of law at the University of Toronto, and worked as a professor there until 1985. He also served as dean of the law faculty from 1979 to 1983, before becoming vice-president of the university.

In 1985, Iacobucci was appointed deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general for Canada. From there, he became chief justice of the Federal Court of Canada in 1988 and a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1991.

After retiring in 2004, he served as interim president of the University of Toronto before joining the law firm Torys LLP. He held a position on the Torstar board of directors from 2004 to 2009.

Iacobucci has written a number of high-profile reports for the federal government on First Nations issues. In 2005, he was appointed by Ottawa to lead discussions toward resolving the legacy of Indian residential schools.

In 2011, he was appointed by Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General to do an independent review of First Nations reserve communities and the lack of representation on juries.